Sunday Matinee: Anomalisa

I love the films of Charlie Kaufman. Being John Malkovich, Adaptation., Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Synecdoche, New York which is the first movie that he wrote and directed (the rest he just wrote).

Kaufman has a unique outlook of the world and while many of his stories deal with an offbeat idea, he can capture the human condition perfectly. His movies are often funny and sad at the same time. His second directorial effort is Anomalisa which is a stop-motion animated movie based on his play of the same name.The movie follows Michael Stone (David Thewlis), a motivational speaker who is depressed, distant and alone, perceiving everyone to having the same face (also everyone is voiced by Tom Noonan). At the hotel that he is staying at (and giving his speech at) he meets a young woman (Jennifer Jason Leigh) named Lisa who he becomes enchanted with.

The movie looks amazing, I’m not sure why Kaufman wanted to animate it but it works and it looks fantastic. Kaufman’s story is excellent too, funny and depressing. This seems to be one of those movies that got shuffled off to the side. It never got a wide release, despite getting critical raves and an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature but now it’s getting a home video release. It’s already on pay per view and it’ll be on blu-ray this Tuesday. It’s definitely worth the watch if you’re looking for something different.